“I want to drive transformational change in the grassroots sport, charity and not-for-profit sectors.”
Despite differing opinions, every January most of us set our sights on some element of transformation; not only in our personal lives, but in our professional lives too. Between setting new health goals and intentions for a better work/life balance, it’s also an opportunity to consider how we can improve the processes within our organisations, and the culture too. So let’s explore transformational change a little further.
To Make It Happen, We Need To Get Clear On What It Is.
Transformational change is defined as ‘a complete change in an organisation designed to bring big improvements’ (Cambridge Dict.). And at a fundamental level, that’s absolutely true.
However, I would argue that it goes much deeper than that. ‘Big’ is an understatement when it comes to implementing transformational change - I would expect the effects of such shifts to be far-reaching and much more influential. It’s not about making small tweaks, it’s about revolutionising the way the organisation functions as a whole, how its people and teams perform and ensuring these changes are embedded and sustainable.
Leaning Into The Process Of Transformation.
Transformational change isn't something that happens over night (Rome wasn't built in a day and all that)! It takes time to unpick and to really understand the need and desired outcome. My approach to achieving transformational change with my clients usually consists of the following five stages:
Stage 1 – Setting organisational goals and priorities
Stage 2 – Assessing the capabilities of the organisation
Stage 3 – Designing the initiatives that will support the transformation
Stage 4 – Executing the identified initiatives
Stage 5 – Sustainability of the initiatives and capturing the changes achieved
No matter how small or large an organisation, it’s important that they’re efficient and effective at what they do. Strategic development and transformational change cannot be achieved in isolation. And of course, it's the people within the organisation that make things happen, so it's important to remember that one cannot exist without the other. That’s why, after months of deliberation, I decided that the three services of my consultancy: strategy development and planning, individual and team coaching and of course sustainability planning (which we’ll get into in next month’s blog post!), needed to reflect the journey that teams and organisations go through in times of growth and transformation.
Driving Transformational Change.
Helping teams understand how they can do things in a more effective and efficient way is key to bringing people and teams on the journey of transformational change. They are fundamentally what make the shifts happen! Of course change takes time, so it should be gradual.
Harnessing belief and defining a clear purpose with my clients is what drives me to effect transformational change. I believe that taking the time to really listen, invest and understand people and teams is THE most powerful tool to really be able to make a difference, have a long-lasting impact and to stand out from the crowd!
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